Marking presses



W- TYPROWICZ MARKING PRESSES Sept. 4, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 15, 1959 l l l 54 In ventor W W Typrwdwz BY WW Attorneys W. TYPROWICZ MARKING PRESSES Sept. 4, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 15, 1959 I nven tor WWSW Typmm'c'z By Attorneys v w F F F fi M 12 5, u 6 M 0 MW ite tte This invention concerns improvements in presses for carrying out marking operations comprising transferring material from a pigmented foil onto an object to be marked under the action of pressure and either with or Without the application of heat.

it has been found to be ditficult to obtain satisfactory results in carrying out such marking operations onto metal objects using a metal die, no markings being obtained on untreated metal surfaces.

One proposal for meeting this problem forms the subject matter of British patent Specification No. 789,907 and consists in heating the metal object to be marked and using a cold non-metallic die made of a hard but resilient material. A disadvantage of this method is that the dies have a comparatively short life especially when used for marking objects made to comparatively large manufacturing tolerances.

Another expedient which has been adopted for marking metal surfaces is the so-called excess-foil method. This method comprises two operations. In the first operation the pigmented foil is marked by transferring material from it to a convenient carrier such as a ribbon of waste paper by a pressing action using a metal die which is usually heated so as to remove from the foil all material except that which constitutes the mark which it is desired to apply to the metal surface. In the second operation this remaining material on the foil is transferred under pressure by means of a cold resilient pad, e.g. of hard rubber, onto the metal surface which may be heated although this is not invariably necessary.

This latter method gives satisfactory results but as it has involved first marking the entire length of a supply spool of pigmented foil and thereafter, using the marked spool of foil, transferring the remaining material therefrom to the objects to be marked, it has very much reduced the output of a marking press and for this reason has not been an entirely satisfactory solution to the problem of marking metal objects.

An object of this invention is to enable the excessfoil method of marking to be used without any significant reduction in output.

Thus, according to the invention there is provided a marking press including means for supporting a markingfoil supply spool, means for guiding and feeding such foil through two working zones of the press in which the first and second operations of the excess-foil method of marking are to take place, means for rotatably supporting a supply spool for a carrier-ribbon to receive the material to be removed from the foil in the first zone, means for guiding and feeding said carrier-ribbon through said first zone of the press but not through said second zone and means coupling the means for feeding the foil and carrier ribbon with the press-operating mechanism whereby the foil and ribbon are fed intermittently and automatically upon operation of the press.

It will be seen that during each operation of the press a mark will be transferred to an object to be marked in the second zone and simultaneously in the first zone foil will be marked to remove unwanted material therefrom preparatory to the next operation of the press.

The means for feeding the foil and carrier-ribbon may take the form hereinafter described and the drive to the feeding means may be derived from the press-operating 3,52,l8l Patented Sept. 4, 1962 mechanism in any convenient way. Suitable couplings for this purpose have been disclosed in British patent specifications Nos. 728,391 and 813,651. Such a coupling is preferably capable of adjustment to vary the feed of the foil and ribbon at each operation of the press to suit different working requirements.

A series drive connection may be provided from the press mechanism to one of said feed means and thence to the other, with the drive connection between the two feed means being capable of alteration to vary the ratio of feed of foil to ribbon. The arrangement may be such that the foil and carrier-ribbon are fed one above the other in the same or opposite directions through the first working zone. With this arrangement it will, of course, be necessary to provide suitable means for guiding the ribbon into or out of the first zone in such a manner that it does not pass through the second working zone where it would prevent the mark being transferred to the object.

In order to avoid the need of providing additional guiding means for guiding the carrier-ribbon through the first zone, but not the second, it is preferred to dispose the means for supporting and feeding the carrier ribbon so that it is fed through the first zone at an angle, preferably at a right angle, to the direction of feed of the foil.

Even though the foil and carrier are fed in directions at an angle to one another, it may still be desirable to provide additional guide means therefor for reversing the direction of feed of the foil or carrier after passage through the respective working zones, if it is desired to provide the means for supporting both the supply and take-up spools for the foil or ribbon at the same side of the press for greater operating convenience.

It is to be understood that the means for supporting the supply spools of foil or carrier-ribbon, the feed means and the guiding means therefor may be carried by the moving platen, the fixed platen or the frame of the press as may be convenient.

In order that the invention may be fully understood one preferred embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspec 've view of the preferred marking press according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front elevation to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of FIG. 2 in the direction of arrow A;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the upper press platen;

FIG. 5 is a enlargement of part of FIG. 4 with some parts omitted and others broken away in section to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing detail of the foil take-up means.

The preferred marking press according to the invention is of the open-throated type Le. a press of the general layout described and shown in British patent specification No. 712,971. As shown in FIG. 1 such a press comprises an upper platen 1 carried by a ram 2 mounted for vertical reciprocation in the end of a cantilever superstructure 3 over-hanging the fixed platen 4 and extending from a vertical press body 5 disposed rearwardly of the platens 1, 4.

The ram 2 is reciprocated by a motor 6 through mechanism housed in the press body 5, such mechanism forming no part of this invention and therefore not being described.

The movable platen 1 carries means 7 for ro-tata-bly supporting a supply spool of marking foil, means 8 for guiding such foil through the press, i.e. between the platens, and means 9 for feeding and for taking-up the used foil. These means are mounted so as to feed the foil in a direction from left to right through the press as viewed in FIG. 2. Similar means 10, 11, .12 also carried by the movable platen are provided for the carrierribbon which means are mounted to feed the ribbon in a direction from front to rear of the press, i.e. at right angles to the direction of feed of the foil.

For the marking foil, the means 7 for supporting a supply spool is disposed at the left hand side of the movable platen and comprises a shaft 13 upon which brackets 14 adapted rotatably to engage the ends of a supply spool are adjustably mounted. The feed means 9 for the foil are disposed at the :right hand side of the movable platen 1 and comprise a pair of nip-rollers 1:5, 16, one roller 15 mounted between brackets 17, 18 (FIG. in end bearings =19, 20 being the driven roller and the other roller 16, a rubber covered roller, being rotatably mounted between end supports 21 carried by vertical rods 22 slidably mounted in guides 23 and spring biased by springs 24 (FIG. 6) so as to urge the rubber covered roller 16 into contact with the drive roller 15 which is knurled. Knobs 25 secured to the upper ends of the rods 22 may be lifted as indicated in FIG. 3 to disengage the roller 16 from roller 15.

The driven roller 15 is driven through a bevel gear 26 keyed thereon and also has a pulley 27 mounted thereon from which drive is taken to a take-up roller 28. The take-up roller is spaced to the right of the nip-rollers 15, 16 and is detachably mounted between the brackets 17, 1-8 as shown in FIG. 5. A short shaft 29 is mounted in bracket 17 in bearings 30, 3'1 and carries one pulley 32 lying opposite the pulley 27 on the driven roller 15. The take-up roller 28 is detachably mounted on the end of shaft 29 and connected for rotation therewith by means of a dog 33 on said shaft 29 and at the other end is releasably engaged by a spring-biased axial plunger 34 mounted in the bracket 18 carried by the upper platen assembly. A belt drive 35 connects the two pulleys 27, 3- 2 and in operation drives the take-up roller 28. This drive belt 35 is adapted to slip so as to maintain an even tension on foil being taken up by the roller despite the varying diameter of the wound-up foil.

Suitably disposed guide rollers 66 carried by spring biased pivoted arms 37 are provided to guide the foil between and parallel to the platens 1 and 4. It will be understood that the axes of the various shafts and rollers mentioned above in connection with the marking foil are parallel to one another and extend from front to rear of the press.

Essentially similar means are provided for the carrier ribbon. The means for rotatably supporting a supply spool of ribbon comprises a shaft 38 mounted at the front of the press with its axis extending from left to right upon which brackets :14 adapted rotatably to engage the ends of a supply spool, are adjustably mounted. The means 12 for feeding the ribbon through the press comprise a pair of nip rollers 39, 40, one roller 39 of which is knurled and is driven from the press-operating mechanism through an articulated linkage 41 (FIG. 1), which is adjustable to enable the amount of feed at each operation of the press to be varied, a link 42 and a suitable ratchet feed mechanism or other unidirectional drive connection known in the art and not, therefore, shown or described herein, since such mechanism or connection forms no part of the present invention.

The other nip-roller '40 is rubber covered and is mounted between the ends of sprin-gbiased pivoted arms 43 which spring bias it into contact with the knurled roller 39. A take-up roller 44 is also provided spaced rearwardly of the nip-roller-s 39, 40 for the carrier-ribbon and is driven in like manner as the take-up roller 28 for the foil by means of a belt and pulley connection 45 (FIG. 4). This take-up roller 44 is also removably mounted in like manner as the take-up roller 28 for the foil. Guide rollers 46 are also provided for guiding the carrier-ribbon between and parallel to the press platens. These guide rollers are similarly mounted by sprung arms 47 as the guide rollers 36 for the foil. It will be understood that all of the rollers and shafts described in con- 11 nection with the carrier-ribbon are disposed with their axes parallel and extending from side to side of the press.

The driven roller 39 of the nip-rollers 39, 40 for the carrier ribbon has a bevel gear 48 mounted on the righthand end thereof which gear engages the bevel gear 26 mounted on the driven roller 15 of the nip-rollers 15, 16 for the marking foil and it is through these bevel gears that drive is transmitted to the nip-rollers 1 5, 16 for the foil. By a suitable choice of gears 26, 48 any desired ratio of feed of foil to carrier-ribbon may be obtained.

In the preferred press described above the means 10, 11, 12 for supporting, guiding, and feeding and takingup the carrier-ribbon extend across the width of the press. This is not necessary since the carrier-ribbon is only required to pass through the press at the left hand side at which the marking of the foil takes place, but it is a convenient arrangement since it enables the press to be used for normal marking operations if desired.

It will be clear that since the foil is fed from left to right, the first working zone Will be at the left hand side of the area between the platens 1, 4 and that therefore, the carrier ribbon will in operation, be mounted towards the left hand side of the press to pass through this zone. The guiding rollers 46, 36 for the ribbon and foil respectively are so disposed that the carrier-ribbon will lie beneath the foil.

The fixed, i.e. the lower press platen 4, is provided with two spaced support blocks or members 49, 50, one in each working zone. The left hand block 49 i.e. that in the first zone, has no provision for being heated. The second block 50, which will support the object to be marked, is mounted upon a heater block 51 in turn mounted upon the platen 4. The block 51 includes a thermostat control for adjusting the working temperature.

The support block 49 sits in a box 52 and has wedgeshaped shoulders 53 on each side thereof which engage inciined side Walls 54 of the box 52 so that by forward or rearward movement of the block 49 in the box 52 its height may be adjusted. A screw connection 55 connects the block 49 with the front wall of the box, the screw being vertically movable in a slot 56 in the front wall of the box, so that by rotation thereof in one sense or the other, the block 49 can be moved and hence the height of the support surface thereof adjusted as required.

A resilient fibre covering 57 covers the support surface of the block 49 to provide a resilient backing for the marking die to act against.

Stops 58, adjustable in height and having rubber ends pieces 59 bonded thereon, are mounted at the front and rear of the box for engagement by plates 60 secured to the left-hand side of the upper platen 1. The purpose of the stops 58 and plates 60 is to equalise the thrusts on the upper platen 1 since greater force will be required at the second working zone for transferring the mark to the article than at the first zone for marking the foil.

The upper platen 1, i.e. the movable platen, is provided at the left hand side thereof with a support 61 for mounting a die 62 for marking the foil. This support is provided with a heater and a thermostat control. A second support 63 is mounted on the upper platen at the right-hand side thereof for mounting a rubber pad 64. This second support 63 is not required to be capable of being heated for marking by the excess-foil method, but nevertheless, for convenience in using the press for other operations, the first and second supports 61, 63 on the upper platen may be constituted by a dual heater box of known construction although the second heater would not be required for operating the press according to the excess foil method of marking.

In each operation of the press, foil is marked in the first working zone at the left hand side of the press under heat and pressure by the die 62 mounted on the support 61 on the upper platen 1 and heated thereby to a predetermined temperature to transfer unwanted marking material from the foil to the carrier-ribbon which can conveniently be of paper. Simultaneously, foil at the second working zone of the press, which will have been marked during the preceding operation of the press, is transferred under pressure by the rubber pad 64 to the object to be marked, which is supported upon the said block or member 50 and heated thereby to a predetermined temperature. The action of the press operating mechanism automatically advances the foil and carrierribbon through the press so that a continuous operation of the press is made possible with each operation of the press serving to mark an object.

I claim:

1. In a marking press for carrying out the excess foil method of marking metal objects, means for rotatably supporting a marking foil supply spool, means for guiding and feeding such foil successively through first and second working zones of the press so that foil presented at the first zone at one operation of the press is presented at the second zone at the next operation of the press, means for rotatably supporting a supply spool for a carrier-ribbon to receive the material to be removed from the foil in the first zone, means for guiding and feeding said carrier-ribbon through said first Zone of the press in superposed relation to the foil therein but not through said second zone and means coupling the means for feeding the foil and carrier ribbon with the press-operating mechanism whereby the foil and ribbon are fed intermittently and automatically upon operation of the press.

2. A marking press as claimed in claim 1 in which the feed means for the foil and carrier-ribbon each comprise a pair of nip-rollers, one of which is a driven roller.

3. A marking press as claimed in claim 1 including means enabling the ratio of feed of foil to carrier-ribbon at each operation of the press to be varied.

4. A marking press as claimed in claim 3 in which a series drive connection is provided from the press operating mechanism to one of said feed means and thence to the other feed means, the drive connection between said feed means being capable of alteration to vary the ratio of feed of foil to ribbon.

5. A marking press as claimed in claim 4 including a change-gear drive connection between the two: feed means.

6. A marking press as claimed in claim 1 including further means for rotatably supporting take-up spools or rollers for the foil and carrier-ribbon, said further means being respectively driven from the feed means for the foil and carrier-ribbon.

7. A marking press as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for supporting and feeding and guiding the carrierribbon are disposed so that said carrier-ribbon is fed, in operation, at an angle to the direction of feed of the foil to cross said foil within said first working zone.

8. A marking press as claimed in claim 7, of the open throated type, having a stationary lower press platen and a movable upper platen, in which the supporting and feeding means for the carrier-ribbon are mounted on the upper platen at the front and rear thereof respectively, and the supporting and feeding means for the marking foil are respectively mounted on opposite sides of the upper platen.

9. In a marking press for carrying out the excess foil method of marking metal objects, means for rotatably supporting a marking foil supply spool, means for guiding and feeding such foil through two Working zones of the press, means mounting a die in one of said zones, means mounting a resilient transfer pad in the other of said zones, means for rotatably supporting a carrier-ribbon supply spool, means for guiding and feeding said carrierribbon through said one zone of the press but not through said other zone for said carrier-ribbon to receive excess material removed from said foil by said die in said one zone, and means coupling the means for feeding the foil and carrier-ribbon with the press-operating mechanism whereby the foil and ribbon are fed intermittently and automatically upon operation of the press.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,130,120 Tanner Mar. 2, 1915 1,242,454 Littlefield Oct. 9, 1917 1,523,574 Baty et al J an. 20', 1925 2,488,377 Cohen Nov. 15, 1949 2,736,448 Winn Feb. 28, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 813,651 Great Britain May 21, 1959 

